Five things to do with leftover Easter treats

By
JR Ortega
April 24, 2011 at 10:02 p.m.Updated April 23, 2011 at 11:24 p.m.

Children gathered brightly colored eggs into baskets during the Easter egg hunt at Walmart Saturday.

Eggs and candy and grass, oh my.

Easter is one of those holidays that doesn't disappoint. It has candy, family bonding, candy and CANDY.

But once Easter comes and goes and you have nothing but leftover confetti, candy and plastic eggs littering your backyard, what should you do?

While some may naturally want to just throw everything away, some Crossroads businesses and people have offered up some creative and familiar advice that will help Easter leftovers not go to waste.

Egg-cellent Salad

Some may still follow the tradition of Easter hard-boiled eggs. Sarah Womble, with the Victoria County Agrilife Extension Office, says making egg salad could be a nice idea, but be careful and follow food safety guidelines. If they are outside too long, they could spoil.

From holiday to holiday

When it comes to confetti, why not sweep it up, or crack any unused confetti eggs and use the confetti as a gift bag stuffer? Left over Easter grass could also be used as a gift bag stuffer, said Stacy Cis, also with the county extension office. And with Mother's Day a couple of weeks after Easter, now is a better time than ever, she said.

Gift of Giving

Beth Woodall, owner of Beth's Shopping Basket in Port Lavaca, never throws away anything that can be used for crafts. Any left over candy she gives to nursing homes. And those plastic eggs, which seems almost pointless once the treat inside is taken out, can also prove useful. Woodall has used the eggs to make home decor, like door wreaths for the following Easter. The eggs could also be used in other different ways, allow your mind to be creative.

A different treat

Kathy Houston, the administrator for Victoria Christian School, always makes sure to scoop up all her eggs and use them for future games with her children.

"You don't just throw away the eggs," she said.

Houston creates treasure maps and puts more candy in the eggs and uses them as rewards for her children. It help keeps them occupied and it's a great education tool.

When in doubt, MELT

If that bunny shaped chocolate is too reminiscent of the Easter holiday, melt it, said Cis.

People often forget the chocolate can be melted and frozen for later consumption.

By melting, you can later explore your culinary creativity by using it to make something you've never made before or something as simple as chocolate-covered pretzels.